The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-04-14

Some may not" he answered, with
q dubious shake of the head, and he
was looking after MI as 1 entered the
brush.
had forgotten to say that during the
night we were greatly disturbed by the
noises around US. We kept several
Largo fires going, and while these pre-
vented marauding bea IS from coming
too near. the glare probably attracted
them to the locality. One could dis
tinguish the spit of the panther, the
snarl of the tiger, and the voice of the
lion; and added to these were the howl
of the wolf. the chatter of the hyena,
and the yelp of the jackal. Truly, we
had struck q rich find. Driven out of
the other districts, the beast creation
had made their way to this, and the
sound of a hunters rifle had not been
heard here for years.
l had not gone a quarter of a mile
from camp when a large black snake
ran kissing away from my feet and 1
heard a wild beast of some sort making
its way in the thicket. These were
proofs that I could not be o~verprudent,
and thereafter l kept my eyes about
me and my rifle ready for instant serv-
ice. The village was strung along
the creek for half a mile. but the first
hut ! came to was an Enclosure that
had been used for a council house.
The four walls were of adobe, while
the roof was matched. There were
really but three walls. one end being
left open except a slight return of.each
side wall. This open space was at
least twenty feet r while there
was room enough inside for 400 people
to sit or stand. The open end looked
back in the direction l had come, and
twenty feet away was the beginning of a
wall which extended for about 800 feet
1t was about four feet high. made of
adobe, and j could not make out for
what purpose it had been erected. If
an enemy had been expected to ap-
proach from east or west this wall
would have been a good breastwork, al
though its left flank could have easily
been turned.
l stood there for three or four min
utes scanning the interior of the build
ing, and then walked to the further end
Of it. There was a couple of whitened
skulls on the ground. and l gave one
Of them a kick. As l did so an insect or
a reptile of some sort issued forth with
great swiftness and stung or bit me
on the left wrist. Its movements were
SO rapid that l could not say whether
it flew or sprang at me. I simply
caught a glimpse or two of a dark,
hairy object, and then felt the pain,
which was as severe as if 1 had been
touched with a red-hot iron. / car
ried an antidote for insect and reptile
poisoning. Near the great doorway
was a block of wood, and I went to it,
pulled off my coat, pushed up my sleeve,
and examined the wound. There was
but one p%uncture, but it had drawn
blood, and the flesh was rapidly
~reddening. / brought my arm up
and sucked away at the wound for
two or three minutes, and then applied
the antidote and wrapped a bandage
about it. must have drawn the poison
| out, but nevertheless L soon found my
self as weak as a babe, and my head
seemed four times too large for my
body. Indeed, l was afraid to stand
up for fear that my body would not
support the head. This feeling began
to go away in about fifteen minutes,
and 1 was just congratulating myself
on my lucky escape when 1 turned my
eyes to the north, or toward camp.
The sight thrilled me like an electric
shock. Close beside the wall, on the
left hand side, was a tiger, a ~rousine
big fellow, who had seen fifteen year.
of life. On the right hand side, and
also close to the base of the wall, was
medium sized male lion, and the att
tude of both plainly showed that they
had been stalking me. 1t was a still
hunt, and I was the victim. The lior
had come out of the bush to the right
and the tiger had come out of 1
thicket to the left and crossed the creek
Neither animal could have seen tn,
other, and thus they were not aware o
each others presence.
Had / remained in the building will
my back to the door another momen
one of the beasts would undoubtedl,
have crept close enough to make
spring. When I turned about and sa
down on the block of woodIthe movemen
upset their calculations and made then
timid for the moment. Under certain
circumstance any wild beast loses heart
A move which is a surprise and no
clearly understood will make ours O
them at once, and a second move will
put them to ignominious fight. Whel
1 got sight of the beasts the liol
had half turned, as if to sneak away
while the tiger was crouched agains
the wall, and appeared shame-faced
Had l risen up and swung my hat an
yelled both would have bolted, but
must confess that, taking my pain an
and the general situation into account
1 was badly ratified. I couldn't thin,
just what ought to be done, and there
fore did nothing. This, after a moment
encouraged the beasts, and then cam
such a situation as few men were eve
placed in. 1 had opportunity to Sc
here, a lion and a tiger approaching
victim waiting to be struck down.
have wondered a thousand times whs
could have come over me to sit Their
with my gun within reach and my re
volver in its holster and make not tn
slightest move to save my life, Will
those fierce brutes crept nearer an
nearer. L think the poison benumbe
t and Supplied me to a certain extern
That is, while my brain was never MOI
active and my eye-sight keen, l fe
/ helpless to move, and my mouth We
as dry as if 1 had the fever. I kne'
my peril as fully as any n could, bl
when 1 thought Of grasping my riff
and sighting it the exertion require
l discouraged ME.
The lion was the holder of the tw'
: After making up his mind that 1 coul
l not harm him, he held his head III